And I Love You
by The Green Pilgrim
Summary: Started out as a humor fic and turned into... well, let's just say you shouldn't read this if you're fatally allergic to fluff. At any rate, Conan colors, Ran is angsty, and there was much rejoicing. Sort of.


A/N: Oh dear… I knew this was going to come some time… Detective Conan has become an obsession of mine… within the past week. My exposure to it includes three episodes on Adult Swim and some scans of the manga some one was kind enough to put into English. I don't think there should be a problem, but I apologize in advance if anything is so inaccurate you want to stab your eyes out with a spork.

Disclaimer: Nope.

Note: I'm referring to Conan as… well, Conan in the narrative since it seems less confusing to refer to what body he's in. Also, I used the original Japanese names since I'm more used to seeing them in writing than their English counter-parts. However, I don't pretend to know a darn thing about Japanese as a language so if the lack of 'chans' and 'sans' and everything along those lines bothers you, once again I apologize.

Note II: "..." for dialogue, '...' for thought. Eh…

And I Love You

Conan knelt at the coffee table in the living room, idly running a red crayon back and forth along a page in a thick sketchbook. He glanced at the clock discontentedly, then back at the pointless doodles. He could practically feel his eyes glazing over.

'He's been gone an awfully long time…' he grumbled inwardly.

Kogoro had left approximately three hours ago to work on a new case. Despite his best efforts, Conan had not been allowed to go.

'I probably could have that case solved already,' he thought, 'and here I am _coloring_.'

Ran had been the thoughtful one to purchase him the sketchbook and pack of crayons. Conan was always so keen on accompanying her father wherever his work led him; she figured he needed something to keep him otherwise occupied. And so came the coloring set. With Ran keeping a firm eye on him lest he follow the detective and not much else to do, he finally decided to put it to use.

At first Ran had sat with him and they had chatted, which always made Conan both happy and sad. Happy to be with her but sad that he had to hide behind the childishly carefree façade. He had begun to draw a picture of the two of them- stick figures, her in purple and him in blue. They were frolicking. There were flowers and birds. It was a classic child's picture. Ran had loved it.

But now she had retired to her room and told him to come show her his picture when he was done with it. He had quickly added a big, obnoxious sun in the corner, and taken to his aimless coloring.

This was so pointless. If only he could just tell Ran the truth. If only he could walk into her room and say, "Ran, I'm really Shinichi. And I love you." Wouldn't that be okay? No, Ran would be in danger. He couldn't let her become involved.

Oh, screw it.

He stood up purposefully, tossing the crayon aside. A short walk led him to Ran's room. He thought vaguely about knocking before shrugging to himself and walking right in.

Ran sat on her bed, her knees pulled up against her chest and her head bowed. Her body shook with silent sobs, and he noted a picture clutched in her hand. It didn't matter that he couldn't make out the details from where he stood- it was obviously a picture of him. The real him, at least. Not him in his current state. She was _crying _over him. His heart sank with guilt.

"Ran?" he called quietly. Her head snapped up, and she was obviously startled.

"Conan, what—"

He looked into her eyes and said what he'd been dying to say for what seemed like eternity, "Ran, I'm really Shinichi. And I love you."

She gasped, and dropped the picture. A light danced through her eyes that he suddenly realized had been missing. She quietly got off her bed and knelt so she was level with him. She looked steadily into his eyes.

"Yes," she said, "I thought so…"

And she kissed him. Very lightly on the cheek- even if he was Shinichi, he was still only a child. Oddly enough, the moment her lips touched him he felt a shiver run through his body. Somehow he knew that he was changing back. But the transformation was painless, unlike it had originally been. He hadn't needed an antidote after all: just a kiss from his true love. It was like something taken from the pages of a fairy tale. So perfect.

And he was Shinichi once more. Ran gave a cry of pure ecstasy, and this time she really kissed him…

"Conan?"

'Huh?'

"Conan, you've been taking an awfully long time with that picture…" Ran stood at the entrance of the living room, smiling at him. He realized with a start that he'd been day-dreaming.

"Oh," he said, "I finished it before. I just forgot I guess… I'm sorry."

"It's all right," she smiled. She stepped towards him happily and looked down at his page. Conan was surprised when she gasped and backed away. He raised an eyebrow and looked at the picture only to find that he too was at a loss.

Amidst the random red scribbles was a nearly perfect portrait of Ran. She was smiling at something or some one behind her, and a hand lay comfortably on her shoulder.

'How could I have drawn something like this without even realizing it?' Conan wondered.

"That's… it's…" Ran breathed at last, "It's beautiful, Conan."

"Would you like it?" he asked weakly, still unnerved by the whole ordeal.

She paused, and stared at him for several moments. He felt his face grow red as he got nervous. He always felt like she knew everything when she looked at him like that.

"Yes," she said, "Yes, I would."

With an inward sigh of relief, Conan carefully tore the page out of the sketchbook. He handed it to her and she looked at it for a long time, her expression ultimately unreadable although her eyes spoke volumes.

"Thank you, Conan," she said as she stood up to leave.

"Ran!" he called after her suddenly, unsure really what he would say. She turned to face him again, smiling. "I love you," he blurted. 'Stupid, stupid, stupid…' He put on the childish grin he'd grown so accustomed to using.

"And I love you," she replied without a second thought.

END

Post A/N: Yes, it's very implausible. But what more do you want from pointless fluff? -happy Conan grin-


End file.
